caravan
/ˈkæɹəvæn/ noun, verb
Forms caravans caravanning caravaning caravanned caravaned
- noun A convoy or procession of travellers, their cargo and vehicles, and any pack animals, especially camels crossing a desert.
- noun (Australia, UK, New Zealand, South Africa) A furnished vehicle towed behind a car, etc., and used as a dwelling when stationary.
- noun (collective) A group of camels, especially when used as beasts of burden carrying people and merchandise.
- verb To travel in a caravan (procession). “The wedding party got in their cars and caravaned from the chapel to the reception hall.”
- verb (UK, Australia) To travel and/or live in a caravan (vehicle). “When my parents retired they really got back into caravanning.”
Synonyms
camel train caravanserai convoy pack train wagon train camper recreational vehicle RV trailer travel trailer train van
Etymology
From Middle French caravane, from Old French carvane, from Persian کاروان (kârvân), from Middle Persian kʾlwʾn' (kārawān), from Old Persian 𐎣𐎠𐎼 (k-a-r, “people, subjects”).
The word was used to designate a group of people who were travelling by camel or horse on the Silk Road. Doublet of Kairouan.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A company of travelers, pilgrims, or merchants, organized and equipped for a long journey, or marching or traveling together, esp. through deserts and countries infested by robbers or hostile tribes, as in Asia or Africa.
- noun A large, covered wagon, or a train of such wagons, for conveying wild beasts, etc., for exhibition; an itinerant show, as of wild beasts.
Etymology [F. caravane (cf. Sp. caravana), fr. Per. karmwan a caravan (in sense 1). Cf. Van a wagon.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “caravan”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details